MEET THE CONVENORS
This one-day, student-led conference has been organised by the following members of the Victorian Studies Centre at the University of Leicester. We hope you enjoy the day, and look forward to meeting you!
Hannah Burden (she/her)
Hannah Burden is a University of Leicester MA Victorian Studies graduate and first year PhD student researching the literary consumption and contribution of Queen Victoria. Her research interests include the Royal Library, the Victorian Royal Family and its legacies and nineteenth century female identity and power. Hannah is particularly excited about the way the theme of discovery and innovation mirrors the interests and fascinatingly inquisitive mind of Prince Albert.
Jacqueline Favaloro (she/her)
Jacqueline Favaloro is a final year PhD student at the University of Leicester, researching folklore and faerie in the works of Charlotte Brontë. Her research focuses on themes within the Brontë juvenilia and maps their re-emergence in later works, examining the relationship between folklore, therapy, preservation and loss. Using primary nineteenth century folklore material, Jacqueline’s project contextualises Brontë’s use of folklore, resulting in a new understanding of how folk and faerie operate in her work and the period as a whole.
Florence Heath (she/her)
Florence Heath is a second year PhD student at the University of Leicester, researching Beatrice Webb and her eight sisters. Florence’s research focuses on female identity and relationships in the life-writing of these sisters, whose lives span the years 1845-1949. As such, this conference connects to Florence’s interest in the transition between “Victorian” and “modern” and women’s role in and perception of this transition.
Azza Hussen (she/her)
Azza Hussen is a second year PhD student at the University of Leicester, researching Dickens and eighteenth to nineteenth century dream theories (1750-1850). Her research interests include the Science of the Mind and Dickens’ life and writings. Azza is particularly interested in the development and debates surrounding the unconscious mind and how this was disseminated throughout the period. You can find Azza on twitter @AzzaHussen22.
Emma Probett (she/they)
A final year PhD student at the University of Leicester, Emma Probett’s research is on the connections between Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell. Covering the Long Nineteenth Century, she is interested in how genres transformed in the Victorian period through the rediscovery and reimaginings of Romantic forms to create something new. You can find Emma on Twitter here: @Emma_Probett.
Amber Vella (she/her)
Amber Vella is a first year PhD student at the University of Leicester, researching narratives of pregnancy in the Georgian era (c.1714-c.1837). Her research engages with multiple disciplines, including histories of medicine and the body, textual cultures, and women’s writing. Amber is particularly interested in exploring new methodologies and approaches to research, and is keen to consider how digital humanities initiatives can help new audiences discover more about the Victorian period. You can find Amber on Twitter @vllmbr.
Wen-Wei Wu (she/her)
Wen-Wei Wu is a third year PhD student at the University of Leicester, researching the practice of slumming in the Long Nineteenth Century. Her research interests lie in the area of cultural studies and social history. Wen-Wei is particularly excited about the ways in which different approaches to research through considering questions of discovery and innovation may change and reshape how we perceive the Victorian Era.